A Half Truth Is a Whole Lie
by Dragoness243
Summary: REPOSTED FOR EDITING. Five year old Link and four year old Ilia get into trouble and end up learning a valuable lesson. No pairings. Oneshot. WARNING: life lessons and fluffiness ahead!


**Yah, just a little one-shot. I'm deciding to take a break from Heroes, since I'm getting dry of ideas. **

**A little story based on a proverb I recently heard (don't remember who it's by...). It's a story of TP's Link when he was little and how come he's always truthful. Has Ilia's mom in it (a speculation), and little Ilia as well. NO PAIRINGS. Pre-Epona era.**

**I'm assuming here that he lived with the mayor and his family before he got his house.**

**Disclaimer: you know it by now. LoZ isn't mine in reality. Just in my dreams.**

**You flame and you're lame.**

**...**

"SKKKRAWWWKKK!"

"Yow!" five year old Link shouted in his high voice that belonged to a boy his age as he fell out of the cot located next to the window on the first level of Ordon's mayor's house. He sat up and then picked up his fluffy green blanket and his stuffed black wolf ("Howler") from where they had fallen beneath him. "Sorry, Howler, I hope I didn't hurt you," he whispered to the one button-eyed wolf as he clutched it to his tiny chest.

He stood up and placed the blanket back on the bed and stretched. He could see that Bo and Anne his friend Ilia's mom and dad had already left the big house.

He walked around the cot, which was at level with his waist, and made his way to the window, carrying Howler by the tail. He pushed a wooden tri-legged stool under the sill and then stood on it. Below the window outside was a Cucco pen. Two white and one brown Cuccos clucked and strutted around in the enclosure.

"Quiet, you," Link ordered the birds. "You woke me up, you know!" He scowled, his bright blue eyes narrowing at the birds, and his small round face scrunched up with the frown. He shrugged and then walked over to the table in the kitchen area and pulled out a chair that was easily taller than him. He swung his legs to and fro as he hugged his wolf while waiting for Ilia to wake up.

Not long later did his small stomach growl. "Ah! Come on, Ilia, wake up," he whined quietly. "I'm hungry! Are you hungry, Howler?" He shifted the stuffed animal's head so that it nodded.

Soon, he heard soft footsteps on the stairs above him and then turned in his chair.

"Good morning, Link," his friend, four year old Ilia yawned. "Was that you who yelled?"

"Uh huh," he replied brightly. "It was the Cuccos again. They squawked too loud and woke me up."

Ilia sat at the table opposite him. "Okay. Where's mom?" she asked, swinging her legs as well.

"Outside, I guess. I wonder what's for breakfast, I'm hungry," Link said as he fidgeted in the chair. "You wanna go outside to play later?"

"Okay! We can go into the forest and try and catch some butterflies," Ilia said excitedly.

"No way!" Link yelped.

"No way what, little man?" said Ilia's mom as she came in the front door holding a large wedge of goat's cheese. She set the wedge on the counter and then gave each of the little children a good morning hug.

"No way to butterflies," Link squeaked as Anne released him. "They're gross. I don't like them."

"How come, Link, they are pretty," she asked. "Almost like birds!"

"Exactly," Link said pointedly. "I'm a boy; I'm not supposed to like pretty stuff. Besides, I wanna try and call the hawk again."

"No, Link, I don't want you doing that. Hawks are dangerous animals and you could get hurt," Ilia's mother warned as she prepared breakfast for the children.

"Yeah, and you could get carried off!" Ilia laughed.

"Alright," Link shrugged. "But no butterflies. How about going to see the goats?"

"Okay! Yum, breakfast! Isn't this the bread you made yesterday, Mommy?" Ilia asked as she giggled at Link, who now had his small mouth stuffed with the bread.

"It is, and I am going to make a cheesecake today for dessert. Try not to get too dirty, kids, Rusl and Uli are coming over for supper. If you need anything, I'll be in here, and your father will be around the village. Have fun, and be safe," Anne replied as she was taking out all of the necessary ingredients.

Little Link's eyes lit up. Anne's goat cheesecake was his favourite thing in the world to eat, and it was rare that she made one. He wolfed down the rest of his breakfast and then put Howler on his cot. He raced to the door and slipped on his sandals and jacket. "Ha ha, I win!" he giggled.

"Nuh uh, you didn't!" Ilia said as she pushed in her chair. "You just ate your food whole! You're just like the goats, Link, you'll eat anything!"

Link rolled his eyes. "Nope. C'mon, let's go!"

...

Later that day, around early evening, Link and Ilia decided to go back to the house. It was late fall by now, so the sun was beginning to set.

"Told you and Fado that I'd be the best at foot races. I bet I can even outrun Guardian!" Link boasted. Guardian was Rusl's old russet horse. "Actually, I could beat Guardian _and_ Frost!" Frost was Bo's white mare. They were the only two horses Ordon had. They were used to round up the goats at the end of the day.

"No, Link, you couldn't outrun a bug," Six year old Fado said. "Frost and Guardian would trample you for sure. Well, I'll see y'all later!"

And with that, Fado left them.

"Alright, Mr. 'I'm Faster Than Two Horses', I'll race ya home," Ilia challenged.

Link grinned. "You're on," He said. "On your mark, get set—"

"Go!" Ilia laughed as she plunged ahead.

"Hey! No fair!" link called as he surged after her on his short legs, laughing also.

Awhile later, when the two of them were about to go inside, Ilia gave Link a smug smile. "I won!" she said in a gloating tone of voice, her green eyes sparkling with mirth.

Link scowled. "No you didn't: you cheated!" he protested. "You ran before I said 'go'!"

"Still, I won. Fair. And. Square," Ilia said once they were inside. The house was filled with the delightful smell of freshly baked cheesecake.

Link instantly forgot about the quarrel as he inhaled the heavenly scent. "Mmm... I can't wait to have some of that!" he said happily. "Oh, look, Ilia! On the ledge!" He pointed to the window near his bed. "C'mon, let's go and have a taste!"

"We shouldn't...but okay! Just a little bit, got it?" she said quietly.

The two children stealthily crept over to the window, knowing that Bo or Anne could return in a heartbeat. They smirked at each other when they had arrived at their destination. The stool Link had stood on that morning was right where he had left it.

"Ready?" Link whispered, giddy with the tension that seemed to make the house hold its breath.

"When you are," Ilia replied.

"One...two—"

"SKKKRAWWWKKK!"

"AAYIEEH!" Link and Ilia shouted in unison as they flailed in terror.

As he fell, Link's right arm knocked into the cake, effectively pushing it off the window sill into the feather filled Cucco pen below. He gasped and righted himself, his little heart going a mile a minute.

"Uh oh..." he murmured, clambering upon the stool once more and surveying the damage. The cake was now smeared over the ground, and the Cucco had already attacked it.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Ilia's parents rushed inside.

"We heard yelling—"

"What happened?"

"Is everything okay?"

Link jumped off the stool and together, he and Ilia abandoned the scene of the crime hastily.

"We're okay, mommy," Ilia said. "Nothing's wrong."

Bo looked past the children to the window. "Children, what happened to the cake?" he asked. "Did you knock it off the windowsill?"

Link and Ilia shot guilty looks at each other.

"The Cucco did it," Link said. "It was their fault." He had always been told to tell the truth, and, since it _was_ the fault of the Cucco's squawk, he hadn't lied.

"I see...and how did they do it? Did they fly in the window?" Bo asked, folding his muscular arms.

"Well, no, you see..."

"Don't lie to me, boy," Bo warned.

Link swallowed nervously. "Well, me and Ilia wanted to have some, so we were gonna eat a tiny bit and then the Cucco squawked real loud and scared us and...I fell and knocked it out the window! I'm sorry!" he blurted, and then burst into tears. "It was an accident!"

Bo crouched to the small boy's eye level. "Now, son, it's okay. I know it was an accident. Don't cry," he said softly. "I just don't like that you lied."

Link looked at the man with watery eyes. "But...but...I didn't! It really was the Cucco's fault," he sniffed.

"That may be, but there's something I want you to know: it doesn't matter how you say it, you've gotta be a straight shooter, y'hear? You gotta tell the _whole_ truth. Every little word, 'cause ya see, my boy, a half truth is a whole lie. Understand? Ya can't lie to people, 'cause not havin' someone trust you is the worst thing ever," Bo explained kindly. "Dou you want me and Anne not to trust you?"

Link's blue eyes widened in horror at the thought. "No way! That's bad!" he said, shocked.

"Right you are, Link," Bo said with a wink. "Now, just promise me that you'll never do it again, got it?"

"Got it!"

"Okay, then, now go and get washed up for dinner."

That night yielded a promise; Link's first of many, which he would keep for the rest of his life.

FIN

...

**Well, tell me what you think. It was a first one-shot, so give your opinions, but not flames, unless you wanna be flamed right back.**

**Later on,**

**Dragoness243.**


End file.
